Read for Good empower and motivate children to discover the joy of reading. Studies show that young people who develop a love of reading are more likely to succeed at school, benefit from improved job prospects, and have better mental health. Therefore, they launched the 'Books and Storytelling Programme' at the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital in Brighton. This means children and young people affected by ill health and hospitalisation can learn and grow, despite disruption to their education.
With a grant from the Foundation, Read for Good delivered 840 brand new books for young patients and their families to read for pleasure at the hospital. The charity carefully curated an exciting, inclusive selection of fiction and non-fiction titles. This both brightened patients' days and brought joy and respite when it was most needed.
“I’m stuck in a hospital room receiving chemotherapy for my cancer, I only see my parents or the doctors and nurses. It was so nice to chat and make up a story with the storyteller today. I didn’t think about my cancer. Thank you for helping me have some fun today, and a lovely book to read.”
For nine-year-old boy 'L' (admitted to the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital for surgery) and his father, Read for Good provided "a ray of sunshine" during their time on the paediatric wards.
His father recounted that "seeing the bright orange bookcase arriving at his bedside and seeing all the books available on it, helped normalise a pretty alien experience". L's father highlighted that being able to choose his own book meant L was able to take charge of something when most things felt out of his control.
Having reflected on his son's 10 day stay, L's father's thoughts were: "I would say that Read for Good books and the storytellers have the power to help children, who might be having a difficult time while in hospital, escape to anywhere the story takes them."
“The books we receive from Read for Good save us so much precious time. They’re all brand new and we can rely on them - they require no vetting for quality or content. They're simply ready to go straight out onto the wards and get the children reading and enjoying.”
Read for Good are ensuring children and young people have access and choice to books providing the inspiration to help them discover a life-changing love of reading. Find out more here.
This project was funded under our Improving Health funding priority. Through this, we support local organisations that help people live longer, better lives.
You can help us now by donating to the Improving Health Fund. Donations to our pooled fund enable impactful grant making in this area. You can make donations of any size and it will make a real difference to people’s lives.
Improving Health is also our latest report in the Sussex Uncovered series. It provides a place-based analysis of health outcomes in Sussex and highlights the vital work of community groups in helping reduce health inequalities.
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